Collection: Tropheus

Tropheus sp.

Tropheus have a very aggressive nature, they are best kept in a species specific tank. Do not add a new fish to an already established colony as this will cause an upset and death. They may also be kept in a larger aquarium with some other herbivorous rock dwelling African cichlids. The larger the tank and the more hiding places you have will help with aggression. Provide a sandy substrate, strong lighting to encourage algae growth, and several rock piles along with rocks formed into caves to offer places for retreat. These are truly rewarding fish for the aquarist who is willing to provide the necessary care.

Habitat: Distribution / Background

The Tropheus species are endemic to Lake Tanganyika, Africa and are widely distributed throughout the lake. They mostly inhabit shallow waters along the rocky costal areas. They are all algal grazers, feeding on algae and microinvertebrates they rasp from the rocks with specially adapted underslung mouths.

• Scientific Name: Tropheus sp.
• Social Grouping: Groups – They are generally found in groups and will form nuclear families, though not prolonged pairs as often found in other open water breeders.

Description

The Tropheus species are a moderately deep bodied fish that seems to have a larger head in proportion to the body. The body narrows as it forms the tail and the caudal fin is fan shaped. They vary in size depending upon the species. The Tropheus sp. Black “Bemba/Pemba” is perhaps the smallest reaching about 4 to 4 3/4″ in length while the Tropheus sp. “mpimbwe” may be the largest, reach up to about 6”. They can live 10 years or more with proper care.

There are a number of geographic variations of Tropheus species, each with a different color patterning depending on the locale from which they originate. Color morphs can vary greatly. They can be solid colored and have a broad band or a large blotch or two of yellow or red across the mid section. They have various amounts of coloring on the head, fins, and upper back. They can also have a striped patterning on the body or they can have various other combinations. General descriptions of these species:

• Tropheus sp. “black”This species will often have an overall dark body and fins with a bold contrasting band around their middle or large color blotches on the sides or head. The blotches are often bright yellow or red such as Duboisi Tropheus.
• Tropheus sp. “red”This variety can have a red body with a black head, black along the upper surface of the body and dorsal fin, and on the tail fin. They can also have a yellowish or dark golden body with reds in the dorsal fin and sometimes on the pectoral or anal fin. Some varieties have striping.
• Tropheus sp. “ikola”This species has an overall black body and fins with a bold wide yellow band in the center of the body, (see the picture below).
• Tropheus sp. “mpimbwe”This species has a dark golden to brown body color with thin yellow stripes and there can be a yellow or reddish color to the cheeks or chin area of the head. Sometimes the striping may be absent. 

Fish Keeping Difficulty

These fish are suggested for more experienced aquarists as they are rather demanding to keep. This is due to their susceptibility to certain infections of the intestinal tract such as “bloat”, so require more stringent requirements with diet and habitat. They also have a highly aggressive nature. They can be moderately easy to keep if it properly fed and the water quality is kept up, but difficult if not. They do best in a species tank, and only with other herbivorous types of cichlids included if the tank is large. The aquarists must be willing to do frequent water changes and provide appropriate tank mates.

• Aquarium Hardiness: Moderately Difficult
• Aquarist Experience Level: Advanced – These highly aggressive fish require attention to diet, diligent tank care, and are susceptible to “bloat” if stressed, so are suggested for experienced aquarists.

Foods and Feeding

The Tropheus species are Herbivore/Omnivores. In the wild they are specialized aufwuchs feeders, aufwuchs refers to tough stringy algae that is attached to rocks. They feed on algae scraped from the rocks along with the microorganisms it contains. In the aquarium they need to be fed a spirulina based flake and pellet. If using pellets, they should be the sinking variety. They should have spinach or romaine at least once a day. Only include foods that are high in fiber. Avoid soft or slimy foods as well as Tubifex, brine shrimp, beef heart, and mosquito larvae.

Feed proteins sparingly and avoid housing them with fish that need protein. These species are highly suceptable to bloat from a high protein diet.

Aquarium Care

Do water changes regularly, this is very important. Water changes of 15% twice a week or 30% weekly, depending on stocking numbers and removing uneaten food will help prevent disease. The Lake Tanganyika cichlids cannot handle large water changes very well unless the new water chemistry closely matches the water they are in. If a large water change is needed, changing 15% every couple of days should bring water back to normal. This inability to tolerate large water changes is due to Lake Tanganyika being very deep and the water tends to stay stable.

• Water Changes: Weekly – Water changes of 15% twice a week or 30% weekly are recommended.

Aquarium Setup

Tropheus cichlids will swim in all areas of the aquarium, but are very aggressive. A minimum 4 foot long, 75 gallon tank is suggested for an established adult group of 12 or more. They need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Lake Tanganyika is a very oxygen rich lake so bubblers need to be going day and night, even if there are plants. Regularly check nitrates and ph, nitrates should be no more than 25 ppm and a pH less than 7 is not tolerated. In addition keep an eye on total hardness and carbonate hardness. Avoid overfeeding and overstocking.

Lake Tanganyika is the second to largest lake in the world, thus contributing to a low fluctuation in temperature and pH. All Tanganyika cichlids need stable temperatures kept within acceptable limits and lots of oxygen to survive. Temperatures under 72° F and over 86° F for too long is not tolerated by many of these fish. When treating for ich, a few days at 86° F is acceptable. The lake is also consistently alkaline with a pH of around 9, and very hard at about 12 – 14° dGH. In the aquarium most Tanganyika cichlids are fairly adaptable as long as conditions are close to these ideal ranges. Most important is that their water chemistry doesn’t change much over time. The water needs to be well buffered and maintained with small, regular water changes.

Lake Tanganyika Buffer

Provide a sandy or very small sized gravel substrate and strong lighting to encourage algae growth. Sand used for salt water tanks can help keep the pH up as well as the addition of crushed coral. Crushed coral and aragonite sands do tend to dissolve easier than salts. They need a lot of rocks piled up to create cave formations.

• Minimum Tank Size: 75 gal – A tank that is 48″ long and about 75 gallons will be needed for a group.
• Suitable for Nano Tank: No
• Substrate Type: Sand/Gravel Mix
• Lighting Needs: Moderate – normal lighting – Normal lighting is okay, but stronger lighting will help with algae growth.
• Temperature: 76.0 to 82.0° F 
• Range ph: 7.3-9.2
• Hardness Range: 8 – 22 dGH
• Water Movement: Moderate
• Water Region: All – These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Social Behaviors

The Tropheus species are aggressive cichlids. These fish do not always “play well with others” and are best kept in a species specific tank. They are best kept in groups (community) of at least 12 or more, with one or two males in the group. Many females are needed to spread the aggression of the male. Do not add a new fish to an already established colony as this will cause an upset and death.

They may also be kept in a larger aquarium with other herbivorous rock dwelling African cichlids, some Sardine Cichlids Cyprichromis leptosoma which are known to have a calming affect on aggressive cichlids, and Upside-Down Catfish Synodontis species. The larger the tank and the more hiding places you have (except when breeding), will help with aggression. If breeding them do not house with plecostomus as these fish will eat the fry at night.

Sexual differences

The sex of the Tropheus species is bit difficult to determine and can vary depending on the variety. Males tend to be a little larger than females, but that is not always reliable. The females do not grow as fast as the males and their coloring is less bold.

Breeding / Reproduction

The Tropheus cichlids have been bred in captivity. Get a group of 12 to 20 juveniles for a 90 gallon tank and a harem should form. Do not add new individuals to an existing colony. A large numbers of females is needed for the best success. This keeps the aggression of the males divided and you are less likely to lose females. Females can be hard to bring into breeding condition. The male will always be ready to spawn and are constantly trying to coax the females to spawn whether they are ready or not.

The dominant male of the group will court a female and they will shimmy and circle one another. The female takes fertilized eggs into her mouth. She will carry them in her mouth, and when release will be healthy, large fry ready to feed. They can be fed crushed flake since they are pretty big when they are born. New moms tend to not be so successful with their first broods, so expect to lose the first sets of fry. The fry are 1/2” when they are born, making them easy to feed. With in a week they are already scrapping with each other.

The adults in the community leave the fry alone if there are plenty of places to hide, but if you have other types of fish in the tank you may choose to remove the fry. They will breed about once a month. 

• Ease of Breeding: Moderate

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